Portable hair dryer



March 6, 1962 H. J. STERN PORTABLE HAIR DRYER 2. Sheets-Sheet -1 FiledApril 13, 1959 INVENTOR. 5722/2"? J53? 512:?

W .erraawzy March 6, 1962 H. .1. STERN PORTABLE HAIR DRYER y 2 .E Z t WMW g WM w a m w A United States Patent @fihce 3,023,515 Patented Mar. 6,1962 3,023,515 PORTABLE HAm DRYER Harriet Jean Stern, 54 Fonda Road,Rockville Centre, N.Y. Filed Apr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 806,038 1 Claim.(Cl. 34-99) an object of the present invention to provide a completelycollapsible and portable hair dryer that may be quickly and convenientlyassembled for drying hair in a professional manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable hairdryer that can be conveniently disassembled and placed within a smallhand carrying case for storage and transporting purposes.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a portablehair dryer of the type described that includes a self contained airheating and circulating device for heating and moving air through thehair to increase the drying rate thereof.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the major components of ahair dryer made in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of a collapsible stand forconveniently supporting the hair dryer at any desired height;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side perspective view, with parts broken away,of a collapsible head hood forming a part of the present invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View, partly in section, of a portablecarrying case within which the hair dryer may be conveniently stored andcarried.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 3thereof, a portable hair dryer assembly 10 made in accordance with thepresent invention is shown to include a main housing 12 having a wiremesh screen 14 at one end thereof through which air may be outwardlydirected from the opposite inlet end thereof. A mounting plate 16 isslidably received within the main housing 12 and has a motor 18 securedto the rear side thereof. This motor 18 includes a shaft 20 upon which aset of impeller blades 22 are secured on the opposite side of themounting plate 16 from the motor housing 18. Apertures 24 in themounting plate 16 allow air to enter the interior of the main housing 12from the inlet apertures 36 of a rear cover member 34. The air passesinto contact with an electrical resistance element 26 mounted upon thefront side of the plate 16 by means of insulated blocks 28, andenergized by means of electrical lead wires 30 that are connected inparallel with the motor 18 to the electrical supply line 32, which maybe conveniently inserted in any wall receptacle.

The perforated rear cover plate 34 is also provided with openingsthrough which bolts may be threadedly driven into securing engagementwith the main housing 12. The front end of the main housing 12 is alsoprovided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart and radiallyoutwardly extending mounting studs 42 that threadedly support wing nuts44. These mounting studs 42 are slidably received within bayonet slots46 in the annular frame 48 at one end of a collapsible head hood, andsecured therewithin by means of the wing nuts 44, so as to support thehead hood in direct engagement with the air outlet end of the mainhousing 12. A loosely convoluted coil spring 52 is secured at one end,by means of securement tabs 54 to the annular frame 48 at one end, whilethe opposite end thereof is secured by similar tabs 59 to a slightlylarger annular frame 56. A flexible cover sheet 50 completely enclosesthe convoluted wire spring 52 and is secured at one end by means ofclips 55 to the smaller frame 48, while the opposite end thereof isclampingly received within the space of the substantially U-shapedlarger frame 56. It will thus be recognized that the head hood may beconveniently collapsed merely by pushing the opposite ends thereoftogether, in the manner shown in FIGURE 4.

A convenient carrying case 60 is also provided to enable the entiredryer to be collapsed and stored therewithin to form a complete package58, as shown in FIG- URE 4. A pair of bars 62 pivotally mounted at oneend upon stationary loops 64 secured to the bottom wall of the carryingcase 60, are provided with hook elements 63 at their opposite ends whichreleasably engage with the frame 66 of the outlet end of the mainhousing 12, to thus secure the head hood in the collapsed positionagainst the expansion action of the wire spring 52. The lid 68 of thecarrying case is provided with a plurality of brackets 70 thatreleasably support various sections 72 of a telescoping type stand 74which may be conveniently erected to support the hair dryer in aconvenient position. While the stand 74 does not form a part of thepresent invention, it is preferably of collapsible construction so as tobe readily taken apart and placed within the carrying case for storageand transport purposes. The main housing 12 is provided with radiallyoutwardly extending mounting 78 that hingedly supports a tubular socket76 for receiving the upper free end of the stand extensible member so asto support the hair dryer at a proper height so that the larger frame 56of the head hood may be placed in encircling engagement with the head ofthe user.

The carrying case 60 is provided with mounting poles 82 around which theelectrical supply line 32 may be Wound to prevent entanglement thereof.

It will now be recognized that the entire hair dryer may be readilyassembled and placed in use in a simple and convenient manner.Similarly, all of the parts can be readily disassembled and packedwithin the case '60 to provide a convenient storage and transportingpackage 58. In use, air is drawn inwardly into the interior of the mainhousing 12 through the inlet apertures 36, apertures 24 in the mountingplate 16, and through the outlet grill 14 by the action of the motor 18and associated blades 22, during which time the heating element 26 willsufilciently heat the air to effect a rapid drying of damp air placed atthe outlet end of the collapsible hood.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claim appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

A portable hair dryer comprising, in combination, a main housing, saidmain housing having an air inlet and an air outlet at opposite endsthereof, power driven air impelling means adjacent to said air outletsselectively effecting forced movement of air through said main housingfrom said air inlet to said air outlet, a collapsible head hoodcomprising a convoluted compression coil spring having an annular framesecured to each end thereof and a flexible cover enclosing said springsecured at opposite ends to each one of said annular frames, releasableclamp means securing said hood upon said air outlet end of said mainhousing, said main housing comprising a substantially hollow cylindricalmember, a perforated plate secured to one end of said main housingwithin said air inlet, a mesh screen secured to the opposite end of saidmain housing within said air outlet, a mounting plate slidably receivedwithin said main housing, a motor secured to the air inlet side of saidmounting plate and comprising the source of power for air impellingmeans, said motor having a shaft extending through the center of saidmounting plate, and said power driven air impelling means comprising aset of fan blades secured upon said motor shaft on the opposite side ofsaid mounting plate, said releasable clamp means comprising a pluralityof circumferentially spaced apart and radially outwardly extending studssecured to said air outlet end of said main housing and one of saidannular frames of said head hood having a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced apart bayonet slots each slidably receiving one of said mountingstuds therewithin, and each said mounting stud threadedly supporting athumb nut for clamping engagement with said one annular frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,637,035 Casey July 26, 1927 2,504,394 Crafts Apr. 18, 1950 2,575,841Rosli Nov. 20, 1951 2,632,960 Bucknell et al May 31, 1953 2,725,642Hudson Dec. 6, 1955 2,897,603 Behrrnan Aug. 4, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS1,064,566 France May 14, 1954

